By Victoria Looseleaf
Having been a fan of Christopher Wheeldon’s work over the years, as well as having interviewed him in person (click here for our Kings of The Dance story for the L.A. Times), we were, like Alice, curious about what the choreographer would do with the Lewis Carroll classic, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. After all, making a full-length story ballet is a far cry from creating smaller works, with many of Wheeldon’s gems having stood the test of time.
Wanting, as always, to love a work, we went with our usual open mind to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion for the U.S. premiere of Alice, given by The National Ballet of Canada (click here for our Dance Magazine story on women artistic directors, including our interview with NBC helmer, Karen Kain). We’d heard that the production was lavish, i.e., big $$$ were spent, and that it not only had an original score, but a real orchestra with a living, breathing maestro conducting.
We’re in the Mark Morris camp on this, believing that dance, whenever possible, should be performed to live music. Click here for our LA Times story on Morris, who has also begun conducting, and will be artistic director of the Ojai Festival next June, a first. At right: Mark Morris Dance Group performing L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, music by Handel.
And for another troupe that only performs to live music, check out Los Angeles’ own, American Contemporary Ballet, whose director Lincoln Jones makes smart, elegant ballets that showcase, among other things, his associate director, ballerina extraordinaire, Theresa Farrell. The company also partners with The Da Camera Society, dancing in works set to composers that include, among others, Stravinsky and Couperin. Above is the company performing Benjamin Britten‘s Suite for Piano and Violin. ACB’s second season begins next February. Stay tuned…
But we digress. Regarding Alice, ‘What could be so bad?’ we mused. In a few words: style 
trumped substance.
Click here, then, for our complete review, written for Classical KUSC’s blog. (If you’re interested in hearing about a show where substance meets style and succeeds with a vengeance, check out The Book of Mormon at the Pantages Theatre; click here for our KUSC chat with co-creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker.) Admittedly, Mormon is a Broadway musical, but perhaps Wheeldon’s Alice might have worked better with a few songs, as Carroll’s tome is all about puns, verbiage and language, something we most definitely can relate to!
